Editorial: The cool factor

Tom Suozzi isn’t the first Long Island leader, nor will he be the last, to hold a summit on the region’s brain drain.

But the Nassau County executive’s get-together last week was a big step for what it did differently – it gave the bully pulpit to people in their 20s and 30s, the exact demographic Long Island has failed miserably to keep here.

Too often the debate over what to do to plug the brain drain centers on the thoughts and positions of people a decade or more removed from the realities of young people.

So empowering them, as Suozzi did, and giving them the chance to speak directly to decision-makers, is a good starting point.

Suozzi, as much as anyone on Long Island, has aggressively lobbied for much of what younger residents want. His cool downtowns initiative includes many things that Long Island lacks: walkable areas, apartments for single people and shopping districts that would interest the same residents we’re losing.

Another one of Suozzi’s causes – Charles Wang and Scott Rechler’s Lighthouse project, which we’ve also championed – would also help keep would-be younger employees here because it’s the sort of “cool destination point” they’re clamoring for.

It would also pump life into Nassau County, known nationally as the nation’s first suburb.

There’s still time to reverse the disturbing trend. With the right leadership and zoning decisions, Long Island can once again be a landing point for young families starting out and for single New Yorkers alike. Once that happens, companies will find the region more attractive, which, in turn, creates jobs.

The brain drain debate must never take a back seat, because it’s among the biggest impediments to the region’s recovery.

2 comments

Nice follow-up to Stuart Levine’s article yesterday “Can the last company to leave please turn off the lights?” The summit was a good idea. There should be more and a 5 point plan laid out to turn things around.

The County Executive gets it. Have to find a way to get lower property taxes to keep families here too……but bringing more jobs to the area is vital. Also, hoping that Mr. Wang brings a winning team here too. It will help launch the Lighthouse !